Resist
by TwelveTurquoise12
Summary: "So close, yet so far." A continuation of a scene in An Author's Odyssey. SPOILERS. Read at your own risk. Please read and review! Mild ConnerXBree. And people please, please write TLOS fanfictions of your own! This fandom deserves much more!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. Some parts are from Chris Colfer's** _ **An Author's Odyssey**_ **.**

* * *

Her train of thought was interrupted when Cornelia suddenly screamed. Bree and Emmerich looked up and saw that the Masked Man was pointing a revolver at them.

"What are you doing, Lloyd?" Emmerich asked.

The Masked Man ignored him. He stepped towards Cornelia and aimed the gun at her. The old woman raised her hands in the air.

"Did the girl say you have a _plane_?" he asked.

"Well...yes," Cornelia said. "I do."

The Masked Man jerked his head and gun toward Bree next. The girl stepped back instinctively but did not raise her hands in the air. This creepy guy would not force her to surrender.

"And you go to school with my niece and nephew," he said. "Do you know where they live and how to get there?"

Bree was scared speechless. " _I...I...I…_ " she mumbled.

"JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!" the Masked Man yelled.

" _Yes_!" Bree said. She had no idea what she was doing, she just wanted everyone to be safe! She just found Emmerich, she couldn't lose him again!

Then she realized the fatal mistake. _Crap crap crap! He wants to kill the twins! How could you just easily reveal information!_ Her breathing quickened and she began to panic.

Emmerich was petrified. He regretted not trusting his instincts in the woods. Clearly, the man wasn't who he said he was.

"You're not Alex and Conner's uncle, are you?" he asked.

"Yes, I most certainly _am_ ," the Masked Man said. "Actually, I'm a lot more than what you realize, but we'll have plenty of time for that later. The four of us are going on a trip to the twins' house- _right now_!"

"But Alex and Conner aren't there," Bree peeped. "They're in the fairy-tale world!"

The Masked Man chuckled. "Stupid girl," he said. "I never said I was looking for _the twins_."

"Who do you want then?" Bree asked, slowly regaining some courage after knowing the twins were safe for now. But then the Masked Man obviously couldn't be trusted.

"None of your business," the Masked Man snapped, still pointing his gun at Bree. "Now are you going to take us to them, or do we need some persuading?" He trailed off, aiming the gun at Cornelia. Bree stepped in front of her instinctively.

The wheels in Bree's brain began to turn. The Masked Man probably wasn't going to kill her as she had information. If he wanted to kill Emmerich, he would have done it earlier. So if he wanted to force Bree, he had to use Cornelia.

"So?" the Masked Man asked mockingly.

Bree's heart pumped loudly. "No." she said in a quiet voice, but she was unwavering. "I won't tell you."

"Really?" the Masked Man asked, his voice dangerously soft.

Bree gulped. "Yes."

The silence that followed was agonizing. The Masked Man lowered his gun slowly, his eyes boring into Bree's. She stared back defiantly, although her hands were shaking.

Suddenly, the Masked Man lurched forward, grabbing Bree. Emmerich and Cornelia screamed. The Masked Man pushed Bree forcefully, his body weight pinning her to the wall. He aimed his gun at Bree, the cold metal pressed against her forehead. Bree glanced upwards at him nervously.

"Bree!" Emmerich cried desperately, his call echoing around the room. The Masked Man spun around, aiming his gun at Emmerich and Cornelia. When they didn't say a word, he pointing his gun back at Bree, his other hand swiftly covering her mouth.

"You will do what I say." the Masked Man growled. Bree squirmed under him, her eyes glaring unforgivingly at him. Emmerich and Cornelia looked helplessly upon them.

Bree's mind was racing. She needed something to distract the Masked Man, then they could all escape. She had been to the castle before, surely she knew more than the Masked Man. Besides, they were in her world, so she was at advantage. But first, she had to get them out of this sticky situation quickly.

The Masked Man pressed the gun harder against Bree's forehead. Bree's survival instincts kicked in, and kicked in _literally_. Bree kneed the Masked Man in the groin, something her parents told her to do if she ever met a dangerous man. He howled and moved away from Bree in pain. Bree took this advantage.

"Let's go!" she cried, grabbing Cornelia and Emmerich. Emmerich stared open mouthed at Bree, but he obeyed her.

"Not so fast!" the Masked Man laughed maniacally. He stretched out a leg and tripped Bree. With a yelp, she fell down and the Masked Man walked in front of her.

"You can run, but you can never hide." the Masked Man said cryptically, a crazy look in his eyes. He stared down at Bree, who was struggling to stand up and glaring at him hatefully. "Now, tell me or else… the twins die."

Everybody gasped in horror. The Masked Man was pleased by this effect, and continued, "I wasn't planning to kill them, but if it has to be this way… I guess it couldn't be helped."

"Just because I don't know where they are, it doesn't mean I won't see them again. Those foolish brats are bound to return to the Land of Stories. And then…" he mimed slitting his throat with his hand.

Emmerich gasped. "You won't! They're your family!"

"I will do anything, _anything_ for power." he laughed loudly, triumphant when he saw Emmerich's horrified face. Oh, only if he knew the truth. His horrible laughter made the room vibrate and echo endlessly.

Bree still laid on the floor. She knew that she had lost the fight. Tears came to her eyes when she thought of what would happen to Conner and Alex.

"Fine." she sobbed, slowly standing up. She wiped the tears from her face and stared at the Masked Man in the eye.

"But I warn you," Bree's eyes glinted. "The Bailey twins are tough to beat. A mere man can't defeat them."

In anger, the Masked Man threw a punch at Bree. She tried to dodge, but it hit her shoulder. Pain jolted through her body and she hissed. Anger was boiling up in Bree, and she felt herself losing her cool demeanor. She dearly wanted to punch the living daylights out of the Masked Man, but she saw Cornelia shake her head. Bree would be even more hurt if she tried to fight.

She took a deep breath. "Okay." Once, Conner had told her a story about Alex's ex-boyfriend betraying Alex and the royals. Alex never forgave him. She hoped that she wouldn't have the same fate, and she prayed silently, " _Please forgive me_."

* * *

 **A/N: This short story is continued and finished! Please read and review! And also please write TLOS fanfictions of your own!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

For the first time, Emmerich thought that the witches weren't that bad at all. After all, getting his friends in danger was worse than getting himself in danger.

The Masked Man pointed the gun towards Bree, Emmerich and Cornelia. They walked towards the entrance of the castle. Everytime one of them made a noise, the Masked Man would jerk his gun towards them dangerously. There was no way of getting help.

Bree was trying to come up with an escape plan. The Masked Man had a sling, which meant that his left arm was broken. And from the way he was holding his gun, he was right-handed. If she could only find a way to break his right arm too…

Maybe she could take off her jacket and strangle him… or take Cornelia's cane and whack him in the head… or push him off Mary's Bridge if they happened to go across it. Reading murder mystery novels had broadened Bree's knowledge of murder.

But was it right to kill him? Sure, he was a bad person, but if Bree killed the Masked Man, would that make her a bad person too?

Conner's voice floated to her mind. " _Sometimes you have to do the wrong thing for the right reason."_

A wave of nostalgia flooded Bree. She hadn't seen Conner for months, and although she would never admit it, she missed him a lot. She missed his crooked smile, the fact that he would go red and ramble, and his sarcastic humor.

 _Damn_ , Bree thought. _I'm starting to be like the romantic saps that my sisters are._

The reached the entrance of the castle. It was so still, so silent that it could almost be peacefully. It was painfully ironic that their situation was not at all peaceful.

Emmerich broke the silence with a sniffle. The Masked Man spun around to glare at him. Bree protectively put an arm on Emmerich's back.

They walked through the Hohenschwangau village. Emmerich looked frantically around him, he was finally back but he wasn't allowed to go home. It broke Bree's heart to realize this. _So close, yet so far._ She thought somberly.

She half-wished that Frau Himmelsbach would run up and find Emmerich, but then the Masked Man would probably threaten her as well.

Tears rolled down Emmerich's cheeks. Bree wanted to comfort him, but the Masked Man was aiming his gun right at them. Cornelia frowned and glared at the Masked Man.

The Masked Man was taken back by surprise. There was something oddly familiar about that glare, but he couldn't think of why. He gripped the gun tighter.

The moon started to peek out of the clouds, bathing them in silvery moonlight. As they reached the plane, Bree turned back to look at the majestic Neuschwanstein castle for the last time. It looked so silent, so mysterious, yet so imposing. The moonlight seemed to make the castle glow.

"Come on." Emmerich said quietly, tugging on Bree's sleeve. He looked at her with wide scared eyes. Bree gave him a small smile and patted his head before entering the plane.

The Masked Man didn't know how to fly a plane. From what he gathered, the old woman could fly the plane, but he couldn't fully trust her. He smirked as he thought of the perfect way to make her obey him.

"Any funny business," he rasped, pointing his gun at Cornelia, then at Emmerich, "Will result in the boy's death."

Cornelia gulped while Emmerich just stared at him, horrified. Bree gasped indignantly.

They climbed into the plane gingerly. The Masked Man looked around at the old plane. He had never seen a plane before, and it amazed him that stupid people from the Otherworld could make something that could fly. But then he should focus back to his mastermind plan…

Bree told the twins' address in a quiet voice. The Masked Man kept a secure hold on Emmerich. Cornelia prepared for take off. Everything was quiet, so quiet that you could almost hear the tension.

As the plane took off, Bree vaguely remembered that she thought the flight from Connecticut to Germany was the worst one ever, but this flight, with a dangerous man on board, was worse than the first one. And she was bringing him closer and closer to his target, which meant that she was further endangering the Bailey twins and Emmerich.

Her guilt was even greater than her fear of the Masked Man and her will to escape. Bree slumped in her seat, ignoring the bumpy ride and Emmerich's occasional scream at the unsteadiness of the flight. It was as if the life was sucked out of her.

"Is it supposed to be this horrible?" the Masked Man growled.

"I'm not doing it on purpose!" Cornelia yelled back. "Won't want to scare the child! Besides, she is better at flying!" the old woman jerked her head towards Bree. The Masked Man stared at Bree suspiciously. He didn't trust her, but would he trust her flying skills over Cornelia's skills?

Emmerich looked even more scared than he was on ground. He was seated next to the Masked Man who was keeping a close watch on him.

It was like he was living in a nightmare. First, he was kidnapped by horrible witches, then he was "rescued" by the Masked Man, only to find that he never cared for Emmerich. After that Bree and Cornelia got dragged into this mess he made.

He should have never trusted the Masked Man. It was at times like this poor Emmerich felt like he was to blame for everything. Tears formed in his eyes again and he hastily wiped them away.

After an hour, the Masked Man got tired of the bumpy flight and ordered Bree to give it a go. He watched her very closely, just in case she decided to send out a distress signal or something.

Bree wasn't as scared as the first time she tried to fly a plane. With her hands on the controls, she somehow felt calmer. At least she was in control of something.

Bree steered the controls. Instantly, the flight was much more smoother. It gave her a feeling of accomplishment. She smirked, regaining her confidence.

Emmerich stared at her, surprised. _Bree can fly a plane. That's so cool!_

The Masked Man was surprised that a teenage girl could control the plane better than an old woman. Through the glass near the controls, he saw Bree's determined expression reflected by the glass.

It was as if a bolt of lightning struck the Masked Man. That expression… that glare…

He turned to look at Cornelia, who was smirking slightly, impressed by Bree. That smirk…

Memories spun in the Masked Man's mind. _Mother… Goose?_

That was Mother Goose's smirk… but how could two random people somehow remind him of her?

The Masked Man shook his head. He was probably just seeing things.

* * *

Bree and Cornelia took turns controlling the plane, rotating hourly. Nobody dared to sleep, because nobody wanted to know what would happen if they let their guard down.

Bree became very protective of Emmerich. It was like he was her younger brother. She glared at the Masked Man frequently. However, he wasn't fazed by this. He stared right into her eyes and a staring match began.

Bree had her fair share of glaring at people, especially at the Bookhuggers as they kept interfering with her business. She swore that she wasn't going to back down easily.

 _Feisty teenagers,_ the Masked Man thought. That fact that she was _still_ resisting angered him more.

Bree knew it wouldn't be wise to make the Masked Man angry, seeing that he had a gun, but she couldn't help it. Anger boiled up inside her every time she saw Emmerich's scared face. How dare he manipulate a poor, innocent boy, and then threaten to kill him?

Bree and the Masked Man glared at each other fiercely, the former driven by righteous anger and the latter driven by ambition and revenge.

Emmerich gulped nervously when he saw the staring match, guilt washing over him like a tsunami. It was all his fault.

All his fault.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, so I decided to continue this due to the reviews. Thanks for reviewing and feel free to write your own Land of Stories fanfiction! This category deserves more stories!**

 **Just a question: do you ship Bree and Conner? Or maybe you don't ship them but think they will end up together? Please tell me in the reviews! :D**

 **(I ship them so much)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. Some quotes are from Chris Colfer's** _ **Beyond the Kingdoms**_ **and** _ **An Author's Odyssey**_ **.**

* * *

Emmerich sat quietly in his seat, trying to inch away from the Masked Man. He didn't want to get too close to the dangerous and possibly psychopathic man. Luckily, he was too busy glaring at Bree to notice.

He had been cramped in the small plane for hours, and he was starting to feel sleepy but he forced himself to be awake. He also felt hungry, but the more he thought about the emptiness in his stomach, the hungrier he became until it became almost unbearable. It felt like it was deliberately torturing him.

He missed home, he missed his mother, he missed his warm bed and clean sheets. Once upon a time, Emmerich would have given anything for an adventure, but now, he would give everything just to go back home. Just thinking about his mother made tears of guilt form in his eyes.

Bree lost the staring contest, only because she noticed Emmerich was crying. The Masked Man smirked triumphantly but stopped when he noticed Bree wasn't focusing on him. He spun around and put on his evil grin, facing the child. Tears were spilling out of his eyes rapidly but he didn't seem to care. He wiped them away hastily and glared defiantly at the Masked Man.

"You monster!" he sobbed angrily. "Not only you threaten me, but you threaten my friends too! Why will you do that? Do you even have any feelings?" He went as far as to pointing at the Masked Man accusingly. " _Ich…_ " Emmerich gulped, then screamed loudly, " _Ich hasse Sie!_ (I hate you!)"

Emmerich's scream echoed around the plane. As the echo faded, the message sunk in. Bree and Cornelia, who knew a bit German, understood. The Masked Man was surprised that the kid was yelling at him in a foreign language, but he knew from his tone that the message was offensive. The whole plane was eerily silent after Emmerich's outburst. The only sound was Emmerich's sniffs, and he was glaring at the Masked Man through his tears.

The Masked Man's face darkened, Emmerich continued to glare at him but the expression in his eyes quickly changed to fear as the Masked Man raised an arm.

"HEY!" Bree yelled, but she was too late.

 _SLAP!_

Emmerich stared at the Masked Man in shock as his hand slowly travelled up to his cheek, gingerly massaging the red mark. The Masked Man shook his hand as if it was something he did everyday.

Something snapped inside Bree. Instinctively, she tore her seat belt off and lunged for the Masked Man like a tiger pouncing on prey. She lost any logical thoughts she used to have. She screamed, "You son of a-" but then she cut herself off, as she didn't want to expose any rude language to Emmerich, so she punched his face as hard as she could.

It didn't hit his nose as she hoped, but it hit the side of his face. Less than a second later, the Masked Man retaliated, pushing Bree. They continued to wrestle in the middle of the plane, making it rock dangerously.

"You jerk!" Bree hollered, choosing to say the most offensive things she could without cursing. "You spawn of Satan! You miserable excuse for a human!"

"Stop it!" Cornelia yelled, eyebrows furrowed. She was having an even harder time controlling the plane as she jerked the controls. Emmerich stared at them, wide eyed. This wasn't the Bree he knew- this was something different, more feral, more _violent_. Then he remembered Bree was fighting because of him.

Bree pushed the Masked Man back, spun around and jabbed her elbow in his gut. Her long blonde hair whipped the Masked Man in the face. He saw her hair and grabbed a fistful of it, yanking it. Bree yelped and kicked his chest, trying to free her hair from his grasp. As the two struggled, she saw the gun peeking out of his sling. She tried to reach it, but the Masked Man saw what she wanted, and pinned her to the floor.

Emmerich had been staring at them for the past minute, but then he decided if Bree was doing something, _he_ should do something too! He was tired of being the victim. He was tired of people trying to protect him, yet doing nothing himself.

The Masked Man was trying to hold Bree steady, but with one broken arm and the fact that she was fighting with all her might, it was hard to do so. He tried to reach his gun, but Bree was repeatedly kicking him in the face, while screaming, "You overgrown cockroach!"

Cornelia, in charge of flying the plane, was tempted to turn around. But she couldn't, or else she would risk their lives if she didn't control the plane. She prayed that Emmerich and Bree would be safe.

Emmerich inched closer to the Masked Man, horrified yet filled with determination. If he got the gun and dispose it, he couldn't threaten them anymore. Slowly, he stretched out an arm, his hand trembling. The gun was so close, and he was so close to freedom… his fingertips brushed past the surface of the gun-

It was yanked abruptly away from him. Emmerich and Bree gasped as the Masked Man drew his gun from his sling and pointed it to Bree in one swift motion. Emmerich, behind the Masked Man, saw Bree's terrified expression. Then the Masked Man spun around and pointed the gun at Emmerich.

It was no use. The Masked Man had regained control.

* * *

After what felt like forever, the plane began its descent. Bree was in charge of landing, and seeing her town made her want to break down and cry. She had only been away from her home for a few weeks but it felt like years. Like Emmerich, she was so close to home but she couldn't go back. She blinked back tears and focused on landing.

It was night time back in the United States, and they all felt a bit jet lagged. Emmerich always wanted to go to the United States, but this wasn't how he wanted to go there. The Masked Man's eyes were gleaming with delight, he was _finally_ reaching his goal.

The moonlight illuminated the houses in the distance. They were landing in a large field. Conner's house was a couple blocks away.

The landing was smoother than Bree's first one. She had a feeling Cornelia was going to clap her proudly on the back, but under the circumstances, she didn't. There was nothing to congratulate about. They had assisted the Masked Man, even if they were forced.

Bree thought she was on the verge of breakdown. She had tried to stay strong for both Emmerich and Cornelia, but sometimes, one can only take so much. Seeing her hometown made memories come to mind. Her parents, her sisters, school, Conner. She saw her tired and pale face in the reflection of the glass. _What did I even do… is this even me?_

Silently, she exited the plane along with the others.

* * *

"This is the place?" the Masked Man asked gruffly.

Bree nodded wordlessly. She had been awake for 24 hours straight, even though fear and survival instincts kept her going, she was nearly falling asleep as they walked to the house. All the way, she was begging _please don't let them be there, please don't let them be there._ She was in luck, as the house was completely silent and dark.

"But there's no one here." the Masked Man said softly.

Bree knew that this soft voice was more dangerous than him yelling. "I guess they're not home," she said with a shrug, which caught herself by surprise. _How could I be so casual in such a situation?_

Then she remembered: if the twins and their family weren't there, it meant that they could survive. They could fight the Masked Man. She nearly smiled in relief, it was the first good news she heard in a while.

The Masked Man walked to the window and peered inside. He saw pictures of Alex and Conner and he knew that the blonde girl told the truth.

He pointed the gun at her. "Where does their mother work?"

Bree squinted at him. "You want their mom?" It was weird. With the Bailey twins being the Fairy Godmother's grandchildren, she thought he would want them.

He didn't move. "Just tell."

Bree just glared at him in response.

The Masked Man pointed at Emmerich and mimed slitting his throat.

"Fine." Bree almost growled through her teeth, trying to intimidate the Masked Man by staring at him without blinking.

* * *

In 10 hours, Bree and Emmerich went from Germany to the United States to the operating room of Saint Andrew's Children's Hospital. It was at times like these Bree cursed herself for the ability to observe and listen everything. _Why_ did she had to overhear Conner telling his friends where his mom worked?

 _You actually eavesdrop a lot… especially eavesdropping on Conner…_ a little voice in Bree's brain whispered to her.

 _Shut up_ , she said to the invisible voice. _This isn't the time for that!_

"Listen," the Masked Man said, pacing back and forth in front of them. "This is what will happen."

"The twins' mother is a nurse. I need for a _special operation_ , a blood transfusion. She will transfer my son's blood into mine until all his blood is in my veins. So basically, I will kill him." the Masked Man said the last sentence so casually, everyone was disgusted.

"Wait," Cornelia asked. "Who's your son?"

Bree looked between the Masked Man and Emmerich and something clicked in her mind. Information whirled in her brain, and her heart beat fast…

" _Emmerich isn't my biological son- he was adopted…"_

" _Should the father learn of his son's existence, the child will be in grave danger…"_

" _They could cross through the portal without problems because they had magic in their blood!_ Meaning you and I must have magic in our blood, too! _It's the only explanation!"_

 _Little Bo died of a broken heart because the Masked Man didn't love her anymore…_

 _Emmerich wasn't killed by the Masked Man_ yet _because he had some other use for the boy…_

 _Some other use…_

"No." Bree whispered, and her face turned completely pale. "No."

"Bree?" Emmerich asked worriedly. Bree's heart broke when she saw that he was still concerned for others when he should be worrying about his own safety.

" _I won't let you!_ " Bree screamed shrilly at the Masked Man. He laughed coldly, malice glinting in his eyes.

"What?" Emmerich and Cornelia looked back and forth between the Masked Man and a hysterical Bree.

"Emmerich…" Bree sniffed. "You're the Masked Man's son."

All colour drained from Emmerich and Cornelia's cheeks. "No…" the old woman muttered.

"You're… my… father?" Emmerich stuttered slowly.

The Masked Man gave a curt nod.

"No…" Emmerich looked down at his hands. That disgusting man was his father… he was a part of him. "NO!"

" _You're not my father!_ " Emmerich shrieked. "We were never family! The only family I have is my mom… not _you_!"

"Your so-called mother adopted you," the Masked Man said stonily. "Your real mother is Bo Peep- and she's dead."

Emmerich collapsed to the floor. Everything he knew was a lie… his life was a lie. He was never meant to be born… he was a mistake...

"No…" he sobbed to the floor. Cornelia knelt by him and rubbed soothing circles on his back.

"You're… going… to kill… Emmerich." Bree muttered, half to herself. "NO! I don't believe it! I _won't_ believe it! I won't… I won't…" she also collapsed, sobbing hysterically.

The Masked Man smirked coldly. Now those two were broken, they wouldn't try to resist him.

Cornelia stood up and stared at the Masked Man in the eye. She had never been so livid in her whole life. This person was going to kill his son… just for his own personal gain.

The Masked Man pointed his gun at Cornelia. The old woman stood in front of Bree and Emmerich.

"Don't come closer, I'll shoot!" the Masked Man snarled.

"Then shoot!" the old woman retorted angrily. "You are disgusting and pathetic- and you are willing to sacrifice an innocent child for yourself! I hope you burn in Hell!"

The Masked Man placed a finger on the trigger, but Cornelia still glared at him angrily.

"No!" Bree sobbed. After everything that had happened, she couldn't lose Cornelia too…

Just then, footsteps were heard running towards the operating room.

* * *

 **A/N: Two updates in two days?! Ooh yeah! This chapter was particularly angsty. And there's a cliffhanger… but you probably know what's going to happen.**

 **Thanks for reviewing** _ **gandalf537**_ **and** _ **ImALazyProcrastinator**_ **! It's nice to see someone else shipping BreeXConner. (I asked that question because this story is going to include some of that)** _ **ImALazyProcrastinator**_ **, I don't know their ship name, so I've tried to come up with one myself. Since their front names don't mix, I decided to mix their last names, and the closest thing I could come up with was CampBailey (CampbellXBailey), but that sounds like something out of a Percy Jackson book.**

 **Please read and review! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. Some dialogue are from Chris Colfer's** _ **An Author's Odyssey**_ **and a certain word is from** _ **A Grimm Warning.**_ **(Actually, around half of this chapter is from TLOS 5…)**

* * *

Footsteps ran frantically towards the operating room. The Masked Man put down his arm. Bree breathed a sigh of relief. She collected herself and stood up, stubbornly wiping tears from her eyes. She gave Emmerich a quick hug as the Masked Man listened attentively.

As the footsteps came near, all four of them became even tenser. Cornelia, Bree and Emmerich because more people meant that they might be rescued, but it might also mean getting more people in danger. The Masked Man's heart was thumping loudly; if Charlotte Bailey came, his whole plan would be complete.

The door banged open, and Bree and Emmerich watched in amazement as Charlotte, Goldilocks, Jack, Red, and Conner entered the room. Charlotte was pushing Goldilocks in a wheelchair. Cornelia had never seen people like them, but instantly knew some of them were from the Land of Stories. It was the magic in her blood.

Bree's head spun. What was Conner doing here? He should be in the Land of Stories with Alex! And all those fairy tale characters were there too!

"Bree? Emmerich?" Conner asked, shocked. "What are you doing here?"

Bree couldn't think. Suddenly, a lot more people joined the fray. From the looks of it, Goldilocks was about to give birth. And Mrs. Bailey was there too… and she was who the Masked Man wanted.

Guilt punched her in the stomach. Seeing Conner made a dam of emotions break inside of her.

"Conner!" Bree cried. "I didn't know you would be here, too!"

"Bree, what are you guys doing here?" Conner asked, a worried expression on his face. "Is something wrong?"

 _If you only knew_ , Bree thought sadly. Then she saw the Masked Man holding his gun and an insane glint in his eye.

 _I'm sorry Emmerich. I'm sorry Conner._

"I'm so sorry." Tears slipped out of her cheeks rapidly. She didn't even bother to wipe them away. It was all a person could take. "I didn't want to bring him, but I had no choice."

Everybody turned back to look at the Masked Man, pointing the gun at them. Bree could hear their gasps of shock.

"They said you were dead." Conner said stonily. Bree looked up, there was something different in his voice.

"I've lived to seize another day," the Masked Man replied. "Sorry to disappoint you."

Conner looked between the Masked Man and Charlotte nervously. "Mom, this man isn't Dad," he tried to explain. "It's his younger brother, Lloyd. He's a criminal from the fairy-tale world, don't believe a word he-"

"I know who he is, Conner," Charlotte interrupted her son softly. "Your father told me all about him before you were born. I'm sorry you know how about him. Your father never wanted you to find out you were related to such a horrible person."

"You're not the only person he's related to, Conner," Bree couldn't help but say. "Emmerich is the Masked Man's son- he's the child the Masked Man had with Bo Peep!"

Conner's face turned deathly white. It reminded Bree of the face he made when he found out an army was going to attack the Land of Stories back in that cemetery in Germany. _But this is no time to reminisce,_ Bree told herself firmly.

"I guess that makes us cousins," Emmerich said, staring wide-eyed at Conner. The whole ordeal had surprised him as well.

"This has turned into quite the family affair," the Masked Man snarled. "But I'm afraid it won't be remembered as a _pleasant_ reunion."

"What do you want from us?" Conner demanded, fists clenched.

" _Teenagers_ ," the Masked Man sneered as if the word was a disease. "You always think both worlds revolve around you. To be frank, dear nephew, you're quite useless to me."

Conner flinched visibly when the Masked Man said "dear nephew". "Then want do you want with Alex?" he asked, a fierce sense of protectiveness rising inside him.

Bree thought he needed to have some facts straight. She never beat around the bush and was exact to the point. "He's not here for your sister, either. He's come to the hospital to take your mom!"

"Me?" Charlotte asked, confused. "What could you possibly want with me?"

"I'm in need of an Otherworld nurse," the Masked Man said. "You see, the medical knowledge of the fairy-tale world isn't as advanced as it is here, and I'm in the market for a complicated procedure."

Bree gnashed her teeth together. _Well, why don't get a random nurse from Germany? Why take the trouble to get Mrs. Bailey when Alex and Conner could defeat him using magic? That's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. It even beats Buckinghamshirevilleton or whatever Conner said back then._

"This woman is about to have a baby," Charlotte said. "Please, we need to get her to a doctor immediately."

Bree almost laughed. The day the Masked Man showed mercy would be the day hell froze over.

"What a coincidence- I'm going to need a lift out of the hospital," the Masked Man said, his voice as smooth as silk, which Bree interpreted as his most dangerous voice. "I thought I'd have to give the old woman here a bullet wound to do it, but the mother-to-be is even more convenient."

Everyone gulped, while fire blazed in Jack's eyes. "You won't lay a finger on her!" Jack yelled furiously, charging towards the Masked Man. The Masked Man fired a bullet in the air and everyone flinched.

"That was my only warning," the Masked Man growled. "I will not _waste_ another bullet- that goes for all of you."

Hearing this made something click in Bree's mind. Now she thought about it, the Masked Man should kill her the moment they arrived at the operating room, because she told him all the information and she was useless to him. That happened in her murder novels. But he allowed her to spew out the information about Emmerich being the Masked Man's son and who the Masked Man was after.

What if the Masked Man only had a few bullets? Was that why he didn't shoot at Bree, Emmerich and Cornelia earlier? He had to use his bullets wisely.

Bree felt relief. _I overestimated him- he's just a fool and a jerk who thinks that he can rule the world with a couple of bullets._

Then again, he might have hidden bullets in his sling.

The Masked Man explained his bloody and cruel plan to the others. Everybody was horrified.

What hurt the most was that Emmerich seemed to be least affected. After everything that happened, he was resigned to his fate, resigned that he was going to die… the fact that he was the Masked Man's son had destroyed him.

Everybody felt a rising anger inside them, but swallowed it. They watched with the same helpless expression as Charlotte collected the medical supplies.

Anger refuelled, Bree began to think of ways to murder the Masked Man again. _How about jabbing him in the heart with a syringe? Suffocate him by tying bandages over his nose and mouth?_

Then, the Masked Man ordered them to lay down and get tied by Emmerich, which further supported Bree's theory that the Masked Man only had a few bullets, because if he didn't he would surely kill them or at least injure them to hinder their movements.

Even though knowing that calmed her down, Emmerich was very close to losing his life if nobody stopped the Masked Man. And she knew that only they can stop him.

Panic began to bubble inside Bree. The more she struggled against the restraints, the more desperate she became. _I… have… to… save Emmerich…_ Bree gritted her teeth in determination, but the bandages were too tight. Even she had to admit that saving Emmerich would be hard.

Fortunately, Conner had a Swiss Army knife which they used to cut themselves free. Their hearts were all thumping loudly- that had been a close call. After staggering for a while, they rushed out of the operating room.

"Cornelia, are you coming?" Bree yelled at the old woman.

"I can't keep up!" Cornelia shouted back. "Go! Get to them before it's too late! I'll call Wanda and Frenda and let them know where we are!"

Their eyes met. Cornelia nodded determinedly at Bree. Bree gave her a faint smile which said _please stay safe._ Then she dashed out of the hospital, running like she had never ran before.

 _Pant, pant._

She swerved around a corner, her footsteps matching her loud heartbeat, clashing together in an erratic symphony.

 _Emmerich…_

She breathed in and out unevenly. Her legs felt heavy and made out of wet cement, but she continued to run. She was briefly aware that people were giving her strange looks, but she didn't care.

 _Please be safe._

She pushed past people, not bothering to apologize or to look back. Their surprised and angry shouts became white noise around her, and she only heard her footsteps thumping. She couldn't let the Masked Man destroy Emmerich's innocence further…

 _Please._

She reached the driveway with the others and watched helplessly as the ambulance zoomed past them. Bree's heart sank. _No._ "They're getting away!" she yelled.

"Oh no they're not!" Conner shouted, and he ran over the driveway, collected something and dived in front of the ambulance. Bree stared at him as if he was crazy- was he committing suicide or something?

A bright beam of light hit the ambulance and it disappeared. Bree continued to stare at it. _Wow. Magic never ceases to amaze me._

"Come on!" Conner waved to the others. "Follow me!"

Bree looked dubiously at the shining binder before deciding that she could trust Conner and jumped into the light.

After being momentarily stunned by the light, they looked around at their surroundings. It must have been a portal, because this world was totally different from the Otherworld. It was an eerie place, but even with the chills in the air, Bree felt strangely connected to this place.

 _I feel like I've seen this place before… but I know I haven't. Was it just my imagination?_ Then something popped into her mind. _What if_ this _is my imagination?_

A flash of red caught her eye. She turned around and saw a red fox dancing amongst the tombstones. It was very familiar… _too_ familiar...

It was as if a wave of déjà vu hit her suddenly. _Isn't… that… the fox in my short story "Cemetery of the Undead?"_

Another voice nagged in the back of her mind. _Nice dream, Bree, but it's time to wake up. You've probably fainted from the lack of oxygen from that run, and Conner's probably about to dump cold water on me…_

But wait. This was too vivid to be a dream. It wasn't just the fox and her surroundings, but her gut feeling. She could _feel_ it. It _had_ to be real.

But the question was: how?

"Conner, where was that beam of light supposed to take us?" Bree asked, just to make things clear.

"It should have transported us into one of my short stories," he explained to a bewildered Bree. "We've been using a potion to travel into my writing, but I have no clue where it's taken us."

Bree had a million questions, but the only thing that managed to pierce through her confused mind was that her story was _real_! All her characters were here! Her brain was whirling with information, but she knew she didn't have enough time to analyze them. She automatically grinned, but stopped short.

Then she remembered that the Masked Man was on the loose, and he had captives with him. Zombies, plus a dangerous man and a creepy cemetery? Bree blanched. _This is the worst coincidence EVER._

"I do," Bree said, feeling scared yet excited at visiting her own story. "This is _my_ short story- we're in 'Cemetery of the Undead!'"

* * *

 **A/N: Yay! We reached 150 views! Thanks to all those who favourited, followed or reviewed!** _ **gandalf537**_ **and** _ **ImALazyProcrastinator**_ **, I really appreciate your creativity. It's just annoying that their names have weird combinations. Gah, why is it so hard to find a ship name for my OTP in this fandom... And I seriously did not laugh as those were the (horrendous) ship names I came up at first. _ImALazyProcrastinator_ , I don't read Percy Jackson but since I have a friend who reads that and the fandom is fairly popular, I know some things. **_**Maddieriley12**_ **, thanks for favouriting and following me and I'll be looking forward to reading your fanfictions! (I'm planning to write something after TLOS 6 comes out)**

 **Please read and review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. Some dialogue are from Chris Colfer's** _ **An Author's Odyssey.**_

* * *

" _This is_ my _story- we're in 'Cemetery of the Undead'!"_

Even though Bree said it out loud, she still wasn't sure if it was real or not. Normally, she thought that her straightforward logic would help with dealing the situation, but for once, it didn't. It was even more mind boggling than discovering the Land of Stories because those had been classic literature. This was just some story she came up with.

"I got my stories from Mrs. Peters," Conner tried to explain. "She must have mixed your writing with mine when she gave them to me! It's been in the back of my binder the whole time! I didn't have a divider between them, so the Portal Potion must have seeped through my writing and into yours."

 _Uhh… okay?_ Bree stared blankly at Conner. She didn't understand a word he said. _So basically we weren't supposed to go here, but somehow we're here, so we have to save Emmerich and the others? In the midst of zombies, graves and a creepy cemetery? Ah crap, please don't tell me it's midnight._ She looked down at her watch. _Damn. Twenty five minutes to midnight. This is just brilliant._

The situation couldn't be worse. Goldilocks was about to give birth, Emmerich and Charlotte were in grave danger, they stumbled upon a cemetery with real zombies, and to top things off, the Masked Man was out there, roaming with a gun.

"You guys stay with Goldie," Conner instructed. "I'm going to find Emmerich and my mom. As soon as I get them away from the Masked Man, I'll send my mom here to help."

"I'm coming with you," Bree said automatically.

"You can't, it's too dangerous." Conner replied.

Bree appreciated the sentimental effort, but which part of her current adventure wasn't dangerous? Besides, she felt responsible for taking care of Emmerich. "Conner, I know you're used to being the hero of your own stories, but this is mine." _Uh, Conner said he travelled to his own stories, so I didn't say anything wrong, right?_ "I know this cemetery like the back of my hand. Besides, we only have twenty minutes until midnight- we have to get everyone out of here before then!"

"What happens at midnight?" Red asked anxiously.

"The characters come out." Bree gulped at the thought of it. _Yeah, I like writing about zombies, but I never thought I would_ meet _one. Besides, if my descriptions are accurate, they would creep everyone out!_

"What's wrong with you writers?" Red yelled angrily. "If you wrote instruction manuals, we wouldn't have this problem!"

Bree wanted to make a sarcastic comeback, but choked it down her throat. She decided Emmerich and Charlotte would be their top priority now. She and Conner looked at the mausoleums. If memory served her right, there would be 666 of those mausoleums (Bree chose that number because it was a creepy number). They simply looked at the staggering number of mausoleums, wondering where Emmerich and Charlotte were.

Finally, they decided to make a move. They silently but swiftly searched through the mausoleums, heart sinking every time they found an empty mausoleum. Bree marked down the places they visited in her head. _Emmerich… Where are you?_

The cemetery was deathly silent, the only sound being their footsteps and their heavy breathing.

Suddenly, the clear sound of broken glass pierced through the silence, followed by gunfire then shrill screams. Conner and Bree looked up quickly and peered around, anxiety filling them.

" _Mom!"_ Conner gasped.

" _Emmerich!"_ Bree whispered.

Then in unison, they set off, running towards the same direction. Nothing could distract them from saving Charlotte and Emmerich.

Well, except for one thing.

Bree gasped and skidded back, and Conner nearly crashed into her. " _What?_ " he whispered.

Bree's shaky voice came back to him. "It's nothing. I just thought that the statue was the Masked Man." She stared straight ahead at the statue, clouded by fog. Conner followed her gaze and saw what she meant.

"Yikes, this is creepy." Conner peeped.

"I'm never going to write about cemeteries again," Bree muttered under her breath, but that didn't disguise the fear in her voice.

They crept as fast as they dared through the cemetery. The statues were especially creepy as they looked around frantically, eyes darting to every small detail. They lost track of direction and time.

"I think I just saw something," Conner muttered softly so only Bree could hear. The two were instantly on alert, standing back to back, comforted by the warmth of the other, ears twitching to every small sound. Their hearts were pounding, hands were trembling, and deep down they prayed with all their might it wasn't the Masked Man.

Soft footsteps were heard, and Charlotte emerged. "Conner!" she gasped joyfully and instantly tackled her son into a big hug. Conner, although glad to see his mom, pushed her gently away from him. Time was running short.

"Mom!" Conner whispered, despite being relieved he couldn't speak loudly due to the fear of the Masked Man discovering them. "Thank God you're okay! Where's Emmerich?"

Charlotte, still breathing heavily, looked around them. "He was right beside me a moment ago. We escaped from your uncle but got separated in the fog."

Hearing this, Conner and Bree's heart sank. The relief they felt when they found Charlotte was replaced by their anxiety. Bree wanted nothing more to make a mad dash around the cemetery and find Emmerich, but that would be an immensely rash decision. She was sure midnight was nearing...

Once Charlotte ran off to help Goldilocks give birth, Bree and Conner continued to search for Emmerich, their pace quickening. Bree vaguely remembered some statues and gravestones, but her mind was too in a whirl for her to focus on them.

The cemetery gradually grew foggier and foggier. Bree instantly realized what it meant- midnight was nearing. After all, she wrote the story herself.

"Time is running out!" she hissed to Conner.

"Got it!" he whispered back.

The cold mist drifted past them, sending shivers down their spines, from both the cold and fear. Soon, they could barely see and stumbled around with arms outstretched.

Everything Bree saw was a blurry dark mess. She couldn't even see Conner who should be right beside her. Fear suddenly gripped her heart. "Conner, are you here?" she whispered, trying not to sound scared.

"I'm here," a familiar voice from her right sounded. She walked towards the voice, but apparently Conner was trying to walk to her too, so they bumped into each other. Conner laughed nervously and they both tried to walk away and continue to search for Emmerich, but stopped when they realized they couldn't see a thing.

They stood side by side silently, shoulders gently brushing. "The fog should pass in a few seconds." Bree muttered quietly, and it did. They rubbed their eyes as they could see again, arms accidentally bumping into each other.

Silence.

"It's easy to get lost in here," Bree murmured half to herself. Conner heard. He looked at Bree, who was looking at the cemetery quietly. Fear and guilt flickered across her eyes. Conner couldn't imagine how horrible she felt, how her proud creation became her nightmare.

He chewed his lip, as if he was making up his mind about something, then he reached out and closed his hand around Bree's wrist. She spun around in surprise and he just shrugged. "That way we won't get separated."

"Okay." A small smile appeared on Bree's face. "Let's find Emmerich."

* * *

Emmerich tore through the cemetery with Charlotte, hearts pumping from adrenaline and fear. They had just narrowly escaped from the Masked Man. Now they just had to find the others and get out of here. The fog was clouding their vision, which made everything ten times creepier.

The boy suddenly saw a blurry figure in front of him. He yelped and starting running, thinking it was the Masked Man. But when the figure didn't move, Emmerich cautiously stepped closer to the figure. He reached out a shaking arm and his fingers brushed against cool, rough stone. He sighed with relief. It had only been a statue.

The cemetery was suddenly very quiet. _Too_ quiet. Emmerich scanned the area quickly and discovered he was alone. He had somehow lost Charlotte.

A strangled sob escaped from his throat as tears threatened to fall. He was all alone. Again. A cool breeze whooshed past him and he shivered. The wind blew mist towards him and Emmerich was blinded for a couple of seconds.

He decided he would try to analyze the situation as quickly and calmly as he could. He took a few shaky steps backwards until his back hit the statue he thought was the Masked Man earlier. He felt safer now he was touching something solid.

His mom always told him if he got lost, he should stay in one place so someone could find him. That was what Emmerich should do, but he had no idea _who_ would find him first.

He walked around, freezing whenever he thought he saw someone. He hid behind statues, peeping out from them. The fear of someone appearing suddenly haunted him, and Emmerich could _feel_ his pulse beating on his wrist. His eyes glistened with tears. He didn't know whether it was because of the stinging wind, his fear and hopelessness, or both.

He also didn't know where the others were. He hoped that Charlotte, Conner, Bree and the others were safe. He felt really guilty as he thought he was the reason they entered this dangerous zone.

After what seemed like eternity, he found an extremely foggy place which he deemed as the most ideal hiding place, as he couldn't be found easily. If he saw Conner and Bree, he could pop out and if he saw the Masked Man, he would remain silent. Emmerich crept to a particularly big tombstone and crouched behind it, back pressed against the stone and arms wrapped around his knees, foolishly still believing in the childish theory of "If I can't see you, you can't see me." It probably wasn't true, but Emmerich still clung to it desperately.

It was a small glimmer of hope shining in the middle of darkness.

* * *

Conner and Bree ran through the cemetery hand in hand. Anxiety was growing inside Bree, she was sure it would be reaching it's peak soon. The two were getting desperate and hopeless. It was as if the gloom in the cemetery was contagious and they were affected by it.

They reached the foggiest part in the cemetery. Without a beat of hesitation they ran in. They hadn't been to this part before so there was a chance that Emmerich was there. The cool mist engulfed them and they squinted their eyes to try to make out shapes. Their footsteps echoed in the cemetery.

* * *

Emmerich heard the footsteps. He tensed and made himself as tiny as possible.

Footsteps meant hope. Conner and Bree might finally find him and bring him out from this cemetery. He could go home to his mother. He could be safe and sound.

But then, footsteps could also mean doom if the Masked Man found him.

He only hoped it was the former.

* * *

 _3 minutes._

There were only three minutes left.

Now, Bree knew that they could only depend on luck. They checked one side of the cemetery and found nothing. It was so foggy Bree couldn't even determine where they were. She hoped they didn't hit the jackpot- the scariest part where rotting zombies held bloodstained weapons and actually _kill_ people. Because in their deranged minds everyone living person equalled to the person who killed them. And they desired revenge.

She had been so preoccupied with the Masked Man she forgot that there were _real_ dangers in her story.

" _Emmerich!_ " Bree whispered softly. " _Where are you?_ "

* * *

They say the animal instincts are forced out when you are in extreme situations.

Emmerich was learning this firsthand. Unable to see, his hearing suddenly became very sharp. His head jerked ever so slightly at the tiniest sound. The footsteps sometimes sounded closer to him, sometimes farther like they were wavering.

It was then he discovered there might be more than one pair of footsteps.

He listened intently. Yes, there were two people.

His heart sang out in joy. _It must be Bree and Conner!_ But when he peeped out from behind the tombstone, he couldn't see anything.

The footsteps sounded closer, and they were frantic and hurried. But he didn't see anybody. All he could see was a blurry blob. Suddenly, fear eclipsed his excitement. What if the Masked Man found his friends and used them to find him?

Emmerich decided he would rather be safe than sorry and returned to sitting behind the gravestone, ice cold fingers curling into fists in anticipation and fear. He looked around, hoping to see something.

Emmerich squinted. He saw two shadows making their way towards him. His heart thumped in excitement. It was so foggy he couldn't see their features but he knew it was them.

Slowly, slowly, he made out their pale faces and frenzied eyes. Conner and Bree breathed heavily and stared at the small boy in front of them. Bree was so relieved she thought her heart might burst from her gladness. She quickly checked her watch. _30 seconds._ She gulped. _Can we make it if we run with all our might?_ But seeing Emmerich made her worries disappear for a moment.

"There you are!" Bree gasped, a small smile appearing on her face.

"Conner! Bree!" Emmerich cried, eyes watering slightly at the sight of his friends. Then he remembered something. "Where's Charlotte?"

"She went back to help Goldilocks," Conner replied. Like Bree, he was also staring at Emmerich with a half-smile on his face. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

"NOT SO FAST!" A horribly familiar voice shouted behind them.

They were all so shocked and scared, they thought their hearts might have stopped beating for a second. Like in a horror movie, Conner and Bree slowly turned around, and what they saw made their blood freeze to ice. The Masked Man was limping towards them, his eyes were unfocused and had a maniacal glint in them. His bloodstained clothes made him look like someone who survived a zombie apocalypse twice. Or worse, a zombie himself.

 _The creepiest thing is that he reminds me of the zombies I created, but he's REAL!_ Bree thought nervously. Instinctively, she stood next to Emmerich and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"The boy is coming with me!" the Masked Man hollered, his voice slightly raspy.

Conner knitted his brows in determination and stood between the Masked Man and Emmerich, arms spread out in an effort to protect his friends.

"No one is going anywhere with you!" he retorted angrily.

"Stupid boy!" the Masked Man growled, words slightly slurred due to the sedative. "Get out of my way or I'll shoot!"

Chills ran down Bree and Emmerich's spines. Bree tightened her grip on Emmerich's shoulders. They both knew there was no knowing how far the Masked Man would go. Bree started mentally counting down. _20… 19…. 18…_

Conner couldn't think. So he did the thing his heart told him to do- pour out all his hate and anger onto the Masked Man.

"Go ahead!" Conner yelled, ignoring the fact that what he was doing was brave but very stupid. Bree and Emmerich looked at Conner, horrified. They couldn't believe what he just said. Bree wanted to do something, _anything_ , but she was paralyzed with fear. Not only fear of the Masked Man, but also fear of losing Conner forever. _15...14 …_ Bree fought back hopeless tears.

"You'll never be satisfied no matter how many people you kill and no matter how powerful you become!" Conner proclaimed boldly, trying to ignore his pounding heart. "And if I can't stop you, my sister will! Good luck facing her once she finds out you killed me!"

 _No! He is NOT on a suicide mission!_ Bree yelled desperately inside her head. Her heart went cold and her hands began to shake. _I don't need any of those dramatic self-sacrificing scenes!_ Bree stared at the commotion through the tears in her eyes. Her heart started to crumble down like a building during an earthquake. _7… 6…_

The Masked Man ignored Conner, drew out his gun and aimed it at Conner's forehead. _Wait…_ Bree thought, a spark of hope coming to her suddenly. _We might have a chance! 5… 4…_

Beads of sweat formed on Conner's face and stood there, frozen. He wasn't sure if he made the right choice, he wasn't sure about sacrificing himself, but he was sure about one thing- he wanted him and Alex to win. He wanted to stop all the fighting and the casualties. He was doing it to protect innocent people. He closed his eyes shakily for what might be the final time, hoping Alex could win without him.

Emmerich hid his face behind his hands. He couldn't bear to watch. He too was on the verge of collapsing. He couldn't believe that Conner was risking himself to save his life.

 _3… 2…_

" _Give my regards to your father."_

The Masked Man's finger hovered a millimeter above the trigger. Conner held his breath.

 _1! Zombie time!_

Even though Bree had been anticipating it, the scraping sound still shocked her. Most thankfully, the Masked Man was so surprised he lowered his gun. _Yes! Thank you! Conner's safe!_ Bree sighed in gratitude. Then she remembered when that danger was gone, another would emerge.

The corpses stood up suddenly, as stiff as a board. Bree watched with an odd mixture of pride, disgust and fear as the zombies- _her_ zombies came to life. _It_ is " _Cemetery of the Undead"! It's alive! IT'S ALIVE!_

Even though the corpses were very much decomposed and creepy, Bree instantly recognised them. They were Joan of Arc, Anne Boleyn and Marie-Antoinette! They were in "Wronged Women Row", and the place with the murdering zombies was quite far from where they were! Bree wanted to dance and celebrate, but realized that Conner and Emmerich were staring at the corpses, terrified out of their wits.

"What's going on?" Conner whispered to Bree, trying to keep his voice from being a pitch higher than usual.

"It's midnight," she replied, sounding scared but with a hint of pride in her voice. "All the bodies in the cemetery come back to life for a few minutes every night to stretch their legs and visit with each other. It's supposed to be a morbid representation of what break time is like in a public high school!"

 _Yeah, morbid representation turned wrong._ Heart in her throat, from both fear and excitement, Bree watched the corpses.

"Who are they?" Conner asked. "Why do they look so familiar?" He thought hard about it. Maybe he had seen them in a documentary?

"This area of the cemetery is called 'Wronged Women Row'", Bree explained to the boys. "These are the women I thought had unfair deaths in history. That's Joan of Arc, Anne Boleyn and Marie-Antoinette."

"I just adore our nightly stretches," Joan of Arc said. Bree freaked out. _She's using the exact same voice as I imagined!_ "Don't you, Anne?"

"It certainly gives us something to _live_ for." Anne of Boleyn giggled in a way that reminded Bree of her sisters. _I based their conversation on the silly conversations my sisters had! They also speak the exact same dialogue as I wrote!_ As horrifying as it was, Bree found it intriguing and exciting.

"You know what I always say," Marie-Antoinette said with a French accent. "Death is what you make of it. Just like everything else, it's all in the _execution_!"

The corpses laughed madly. _The corpses laugh! They laugh!_ Bree thought in awe.

"It looks like Bo is sleeping in again," Joan of Arc pointed out.

 _Bo?_ Bree thought in alarm. _Wait, what? As in Bo Peep, Emmerich's real_ mother _?! Oh my God._ She took a deep breath to calm herself down. It didn't work.

The fourth casket opened and a zombie version of Bo Peep stood up. Conner and Emmerich blinked and their jaws dropped. _What?_

"Sorry, girls, I was counting sheep." Bo Peep said.

Now it was Conner's turn to freak out. _That voice! It's Bo Peep's voice!_

Emmerich could only stare. This night had been so eventful he didn't know what to think of this new development.

"That's Bo Peep!" Conner whispered. "You put _her_ in 'Cemetery of the Undead'?"

Bree was slightly irritated at Conner's accusing tone. "This must be my second draft," Bree replied. "I was upset by how Bo Peep died, so I added her to the story."

Emmerich's mind finally caught up. _That's… my… mother?_ Emmerich stared at Bo Peep with wide eyes. It was pretty unbelievable, but after everything that had happened, Emmerich felt like anything could happen.

" _Bo Peep?_ " the Masked Man gasped, shocked.

Everybody turned to look at him. His face suddenly had a hurt and scared look like someone punched him in the gut. He started to back away slowly, eyes never leaving Bo Peep.

" _Lloyd!_ " Bo Peep yelled, rage filling her body (or corpse, should I say).

Conner, Bree and Emmerich stood back to watch the ill-fated couple duel it out.

"He's the one who _used_ me, who _tricked_ me, and who _broke my heart_!" Bo Peep screamed hysterically. "He's the whole reason I'm in this cemetery! I'd still be alive if it weren't for him!"

"And look-he's not alone," Anne Boleyn said. "There are three young people with him."

Bo Peep's dead eyes wandered across to them. "I know them, too," Bo Peep said. "What are the three of you doing with a man like _him_?"

"I promise, it's not by choice!" Conner defended himself and his friends. "He's holding us hostage!"

Fire glowed in Bo Peep's cold eyes. Her stiff legs didn't stop her from charging towards the Masked Man. His face was frozen with fear- one that screamed "Spare me!". He aimed the gun at her with shaking arms, but Bo Peep ignored it.

"D-Don't come any closer or I'll shoot!" the Masked Man warned, stammering.

Bo Peep laughed. It was an evil, chilling laugh. "You can't hurt me anymore," she whispered. The Masked Man was absolutely terrified.

Using his last resort, the Masked Man shot his last bullet at her. It didn't affect her in the least bit. The Masked Man's eyes slowly widened with fear when he realized he had nothing to threaten against everyone. But he wasn't going to show that.

"Go away!" the Masked Man yelled. "I'm warning you!"

"Your threats are as empty as your soul!" Bo Peep growled lowly.

That was the final straw. The Masked Man ran for his life, or at least as fast as he could with his limping leg.

Conner, Bree and Emmerich watched the situation, frozen. They had no idea what to do, what to think. Even Bree wasn't sure about what would happen, and it was her story.

The Masked Man hobbled backwards, but he accidentally fell into an empty grave. He tried to climb out, but decaying hands stuck out from the dirt and grabbed onto the Masked Man. The harder he tried to struggle, the tighter the grip.

Bree's hands went to her mouth. Even for her standards, that was unexpected and undoubtedly scary.

"UNHAND ME AT ONCE, YOU DEMONS!" the Masked Man yelled frantically. His voice was so desperate, Conner almost felt sorry for him. Almost. He didn't forget that the Masked Man tried to kill Emmerich and his mother.

Everybody watched as the Masked Man was forcibly dragged underground. It was one of the most horrifying things they had ever seen. The screams were especially ear-breaking with his wails and moans.

Emmerich watched the commotion silently and emotionlessly. He didn't know why he felt no emotion for his dying father. In fact, he was almost _glad_ that he was gone.

And that scared him more than everything else.

Emmerich didn't want to be heartless monster.

Conner and Bree were equally horrified. _That definitely wasn't in the story, but it's as creepy as hell!_ Bree screamed silently. _As in what the HELL was that?!_

Even after the Masked Man was gone, Bree was sure they were all scarred for life. Emmerich looked like he was living in a nightmare. Conner rubbed his eyes, trying to cleanse them of the gruesome things he had just witnessed.

"Well, that's all the excitement I can handle for one night," Joan of Arc, staring at the Masked Man's grave.

 _Are you kidding me?_ Conner thought. _I handled a lot more excitement in a day._

Before Bo Peep went back to her casket, Bree mustered up her courage and stepped out to stop her.

"Bo?" Bree asked calmly, but inside, she was yelling, " _I'm talking to my characters! The characters I created!_ ". She licked her lips and thought about the proper way to phrase her sentence. "I'm not sure this is the right thing to do, but if I were you I would want to know. It's so difficult to say- I guess I'll just spit it out: Emmerich is your son."

Mother and son stared at each other, bewildered. Bree stepped back, and observed the scene along with Conner.

"You're my _son_?" Bo Peep asked softly, very different from the harsh tones she used with the Masked Man earlier.

"Yes." Emmerich replied, staring into the eyes of his mother- his _dead_ mother.

"Hagetta said she would find you a good home. Did she?" Bo Peep asked.

"She did." Emmerich smiled at the memory of his adopted mom. "I have a mother- an adoptive mother, who loves me very much." He suddenly felt a pang of homesickness.

"That's good to hear," Bo Peep said, and her eyes filled up with as much warmth as a zombie could. Then, she gave Emmerich her stone necklace. Emmerich closed his fist around the stone heart, the warmth of his hand melting away the coldness of the heart.

"Good night, Emmerich." She said, a sad smile on her face. Emmerich watched as she stepped back into her casket. Feelings were cruising through his body, and he didn't know what to feel. Bree put an arm around him comfortingly. Emmerich knew it was probably the last time he would see his birth mother again. It was devastating to know that now, he was an orphan.

After that, they hurried back to the front of the cemetery. Each of them were filled with thoughts of what just happened, so they nearly forgot about Goldilocks until they heard her screams of pain.

Fortunately, Goldilocks gave birth successfully. For the first time in a while, Conner, Bree and Emmerich had large genuine smiles for their friend. A life had been taken, but a new life had been born.

* * *

" _Conner!_ " Red yelled, eyes dancing around crazily. " _Come quick! You need to see this right away!_ "

They all just returned to the real world. Charlotte, Bob, Goldilocks, Jack and the new baby were taken to a doctor and Conner, Bree, Emmerich and Red returned to the hospital. Bree and Emmerich saw lots of strange faces, but swore they felt something that connected them together.

Conner sprinted to the bathroom and stared into it and his heart fell in his stomach. The others saw his expression and instantly knew something was _terribly_ wrong.

Somehow, Emmerich knew that it was about Alex. He remembered what the witches said about cursing Alex, turning her evil and making her create chaos. Memories swam in front of his eyes.

"Emmerich?" Bree asked, noticing his pale face.

He didn't answer. Because he knew that everything was going to change.

* * *

 **A/N: Hurray! Thanks to those who read and reviewed!** _ **Guest,**_ **thank you for the compliment. I used to think that Bree was a bit OOC as she is described as "cool and calm". Thank you all for the encouragement!**

 **This is the end of** _ **Resist**_ **, but I will be writing more fanfics about the Land of Stories (I will probably be writing a really long ConnerXBree story after TLOS 6 comes out). I already have some oneshots in mind… ;)**

 **Please read and review!**

* * *

 **Edit: I have published two TLOS oneshots, one is RedXFroggy and the other is ConnerXBree. Please check them out! Thanks!**


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